Transcript

00:00:01

>> Google taking a giant step toward putting self-driving cars on the road. US regulators telling the tech giant that the computers at the helm of their autonomous vehicles can be considered drivers under Federal law. Reuters David Shepardson who broke the story says that the decision is a milestone for the industry.

00:00:17

>> The way the laws are written for vehicle safety requires literally dozens and dozens of specific safety equipment, all geared around the idea that there's a person sitting in the driver's seat in control of the car, that means steering wheels and turn signals. And this really is the first step toward the government recognizing that if the computer in the car is considered the driver, then the regulations can be interpreted and in some cases rewritten.

00:00:49

>> But there's still hurdles. Google has to prove that its artificial pilots get information, like what's visible in the rear-view mirrors, as fast as a human driver would. Another potential sticking point, Google wants the car's interior stripped of its familiar parts.>> What Google is saying very plainly is, they say, look.

00:01:06

We do not want to put the steering wheels, the brake pedals, the other safety equipment in because that will just tempt human beings to take over at some point. And we're so convinced that our computers always operate better than human beings that don't put those things in, in fact, they argue that those, that safety equipment is actually a negative.

00:01:28

It makes the car less safe.>> The government said in January it planned to rewrite guidelines for autonomous vehicles within six months.